Rue
by WrittenWithPencils
Summary: What would things be like if the odds were in Rue's favor...?


**Personally, Rue is a favorite of mine. And, admit it people, who _wouldn't_ want to see their favorite winning? This is one of those stories. Let's begin.**

**x.x.x**

**Rue. By WrittenWithPencils.**

**x.x.x**

''KATNISS!'' I yelled as I struggled to find a way out of the net. I had fallen into a trap made by a Career in the Hunger Games. I never saw it coming.

Your probably wondering the Hunger Games are, so I'll explain;

The Hunger Games was a form of entertainment made by the Capitol people. Each year, the 12 districts of Panem had a Reaping and 1 boy and 1 girl between the ages of 12 to 18 was selected to be their District's tribute. Then, they would train to fight to the death in an Arena that varies in design every year.

I was reaped from my home, District 11. I was the only 12 year old there. Well, there would have been 2 if my ally Katniss Everdeen hadn't volunteered to take place for her younger sister Primrose Everdeen. She too was 12, and the similarities don't end there. We were pretty much around the same height and shape as well.

Me and Katniss were trying to destroy the Career's cache pyramid at the cornucopia. I was making a fire as a distraction. As I ran, I set off a trip line and I was caught in the net. Probably made by the Careers.

''KATNISS! _KATNISS!'_' I continued to yell.

Then she came. Katniss. She cut the net open so I could escape. We embraced each other. We were talking about something I could not remember.

And then he came. About a yard away was Marvel, the Career tribute from District 1. He had a spear in his hand.

What happened was all a blur. All I could recall was me yelling as Katniss and Marvel shot their weapons at each other as I fell backwards and passed out while trying to find cover.

I woke up some time later. And when I woke up, I saw the scene I was dreading.

Katniss lay dead with Marvel's spear in her neck. I looked over to see one of Katniss' arrows in Marvel's neck.

They both killed each other. Katniss saved my life. I wanted to mourn for her but I knew that there might have been other Careers nearby, and the Capitol's hovercraft would want me to clear out so they could pick up their bodies.

I grabbed Katniss' backpack. She would want me to have it. After that, I ran as fast as I could away from the Cornucopia. I saw smoke coming from it. Katniss must have destroyed the Career's supplies. I continued on as my eyes burned with bitter tears. Not only had I lost a friend, but I was alone again. But I then thought that I could get revenge for Katniss' death. Make the Career's pay. Katniss didn't deserve to die. Nobody wanted to see the girl on fire die. Especially her family. I was so confused and sad. What was I going to do...?

**x.x.x**

I continued to run for the rest of that day. I thankfully didn't come across any other tributes along the way. Not having a weapon is bad enough.

When it got dark, I climbed up into a tree and sat down on the most highest and sturdiest branch I could find. I sat down and assessed on what I had left. I had Katniss' wire, her canteen, and her matches. All I had was, well at that point, nothing. I had lost the stuff I had gotten from the Cornucopia when I nearly got sliced in half by a trap set up by the Gamemakers, so this pretty much made up for it.

I looked up at the sky to see the deaths of today. The anthem of Panem began to play and the symbol followed.

First was the picture of the boy from District 1, Marvel. I know that he died. The blood around him was like a lake. A red one...

Then there was the picture of the boy from District 3, who was with the Careers. I watched from the tress when they found him, then took him in. I think the mine explosions might have gotten him.

And finally there was Katniss. I cried as I saw the 5 second holographic picture of her. It then faded away as well as the music. The forest went back to it's normal sounds of grasshoppers and owls. I never saw any, however, so I never understood where the sounds came from. Maybe the Gamemakers have tiny stereos somewhere to make the sound.

I tied myself to the tree like Katniss did when he were a team. It helped the both of us, so this would help with for sure. If I fell, who knows what could get me? I slowly drifted off to sleep after that. I was so tired...

**x.x.x**

_I found myself running away from the Careers. I lost all of them, but Cato, the Career from District 2. He didn't look tired at all. You'd normally think that the the bigger Tributes would be slower..._

_I didn't see the tree root in front of me, and because of that, I ended up tripping over it, landing face first into the dirt._

_When I got back up, ready to run, he was there with a large machete in hand and a grin on his face._

_''Any last words?'' he said to me. The grin on his face showed the merciless thing he had been morphed into, like an arena monster._

Suddenly, I snapped out of my dream from fear.

_Thank goodness. It was just a dream... I'm still here._

The sun was out and daytime sounds of Mockingjays and grosslings filled the air. It would take a while before the Careers would be on the move again after the loss of their stuff, so I packed up and climbed down from my tree so I could start to collect berries. I wouldn't have anything to worry about, save any big animals that might be in the Arena.

I found and assortment of red and blue and even green berries. I also found a few flowers, small and light blue, like the ones in my home District.

Home... I thought at that moment that my family must be cheering me on all the way from District 11. I could see them in my head... Mom... Dad... my younger siblings... even my friends... Or the whole District. But maybe they were cheering for me and Thresh, too?

But then I was snapped out of it by a faint and repeating chime up from above. I looked up to see a parachute float a bit above me. I couldn't believe it.

I raced after it. Once I was right below it, I leaped into the air and caught it. Then, I decided to run for a bush and take cover. Better safe than sorry...

The parachutes were items given to you from sponsors. I had not gotten anything from sponsors up until that point, but that didn't surprise me since I was from the second to last district in Panem, so I was excited and thankful for whoever sent it, though to this day, I never figured out who it was who had it sent to me.

Inside was not one, but two items. One was a slingshot with a number of metal balls next to it. I could tell that it came from the Capitol by how nice it looked. The second item was something I was really happy to see. They were a pair of tinted glasses that weren't used for the sun, but for night time. Back in District 11, we used them at night whenever it got dark while we collected and planted corn, pumpkins, apples, and any fruit you could imagine. Then I remembered the time where a boy from home named Martin, who wasn't exactly right in the head, used them as a toy. He got executed because of it.

Even though this was a good present, I don't think that I'd be needing these...

I slipped the items into my backpack and went back to collecting items. It was peaceful. And for the next couple of days, it was like that. I stayed in this small range that had everything I needed. With all of it, I didn't need to risk making a fire, nor the Careers, thanks to Katniss.

Then came one certain day. It was the middle of the day, and I was examining my slingshot, when I heard a voice in the sky.

_''Attention, tributes. We know that you all are in need of something, desperately. Something that you will not be able to obtain alone. Something your sponsors will not be able to give you.''_

The voice of Claudius Templesmith, the vocal host for the Hunger Games for as long as anyone could remember, boomed all over the Arena so that all of us could hear his announcement.

_''There will be a Feast at the Cornucopia waiting for you. Starting now. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.''_

A Feast was this one thing they do in the middle of the Hunger Games to bring us all together. Always set at the Cornucopia. Sometimes all there is at the Feast is just a loaf of stale bread, but they usually only did that when there were mostly Careers left in the arena. There was usually backpacks filled with items that we needed. If there was one thing I needed at that point, it was protection. Like armor or a shield. I've only seen a shield used twice in the Games, and I heard from my Grandfather that they were rare in the Games. The first one was in the Games when I was 7. It was used by a girl that was from District 10. Then it was used by the boy from District 6 when I was 10. Maybe I'd be the next one.

I knew the risks, but I didn't care. I was going to the Feast. Not just for me, but for Katniss. And Peeta, the other District 12 Tribute. He had a crush on her and he must be shattered. I wanted to avenge Katniss' death. Like how I avenged my puppy's death when these older kids used it as target practice. I really wished that the Peacekeepers would have whipped them in front of the whole district because of that. But nothing goes good in 11.

I put my stuff in my tree and I put my slingshot and glasses in my jacket pocket and sprinted for the Cornucopia, hoping for the best. Maybe I could see Thresh, the other 11 Tribute. We knew each other a bit back in 11. Our family's helped each other in order to survive. Eleven might not be as poor as District 12, but it's controlled a lot by the Peacekeepers...

**x.x.x**

I sneaked around the arena woods cautiously. I didn't want to run into more Tributes. Especially the Careers. They were most likely in the most need of supplies right now. Kind of ironic, because I come from one of the poorer Districts and I don't have any food problems!

As I made my way to the Feast, I counted in my head who could be there as well. Over the past couple days, more Tributes have died. They have either been killed by the Careers or like the training instructor woman Atala said, died like most from natural causes. First, there's me. 1. Then there's Cato and Clove, the Tributes from District 2. 3. There was the girl from District 5, who had firey red hair. 4. There was Thresh. 5. And finally there was Peeta. 6. I heard from Katniss that Peeta was with the Careers when she last saw him. Could he still be in their alliance? Probably wasn't, because I heard he was down by the river somewhere. The boy from District 3 had a tendency to talk to himself when no one was around.

Eventually, I made my way to the Cornucopia. I hid behind some brush, which was probably what everyone else was doing as well. The packs sat there on a metal table. One had the number 5 on it, two had the number 2 on it, another had the number 12 on it, and two others both had the number 11 on it. One of those was for me.

I looked ahead and cleared my mind, then I ran for it. Luckily, I came across no one. I grabbed the bag, but just then, I saw the girl from District 5 grab her back from the other side of the table and race away. I only looked for a second and began to run.

And then I saw her. The shorter girl from 2 named Clove, on the edge of my eyesight. I saw her throw a few knifes at me in a seemingly superhuman speed. The career tributes from 2 were trained to do stuff like that. They're trained to be like warrior, unlike the tributes from District 1, who if anything at all tried to act like royalty.

I kept going before she could get a decent lock on me. I knew that my family was telling me to go. Maybe even the whole District was. Or maybe they were just watching silently and hopelessly, like they did for me at the Reaping.

But then, I heard screaming. I turned around and saw Thresh pinning down Clove as she yelled for Cato. He looked to me as he struggled to keep her down. I also noticed Peeta at the table, grabbing his bag, which caught my attention. He looked like a mess. Scratched up and bruised. He wasn't ready for the Games I bet. Being a baker's son and all...

''Go!'' Thresh said to me, which caused me to snap out of it. And I did. I ran as fast as I could. Into the woods and towards my base camp of tress and bushes making a clearing shaped like a circle.

Along the way, I heard two cannon shots go off. I hoped that one of them wasn't Thresh's cannon. I eventually got back to my spot and climbed up into my tree and opened up the bag. And I couldn't believe what was inside.

It was a bronze shield that you could wrap around your arms with it's velcrow straps. On the front of it was my District's symbol. Which was a large ear of corn with a few leaves on either side of it.

I tried it on my right wrist and it fit perfectly. It looks like it was a custom made shield. It even matched my slingshot. Both would probably come in handy because if I make it into the top 2, I will have to fight.

I waited for night to come. It felt like it would take forever for the anthem to start.

And then it did. The mixture of trumpets filled the air with music as they began to display the deaths. To my fortune, it was Clove and Cato. Looks like this year the Careers were not gonna have anything to party about. But now what? How would things play out? Nobody was to come out to fight, especially Peeta and the red head from 5. The Gamemakers would probably do something to bring us all together. That's how the Games never got boring. They might start another fire like this one fire they started earlier in the Games, or maybe they will start a hurricane. Nobody really ever knows. Only time would tell, though. I was hoping that I could hold out a bit longer...

**x.x.x**

For the next few days, nothing happened that was gamemaker related. Well, as far as I knew. For all I knew there could have been a fire on the other side of the Arena...

Peeta from 12 died a couple of nights ago. I heard his cannon and then the anthem with his picture in the sky. I found a sharp rock that wasn't obviously naturally like how it was. I never knew how it got that way. Maybe it was a parachute gift that belonged to another Tribute.

And then I remembered it's origin...

It was earlier in the Games. I was running through the forest while trying to escape the clutches of the girl from District 1. She must have been alone for some reason, but I didn't know why. Just as she was about to fire at me, the boy from District 10 came out and began attacking her with a sharp rock in his hand. That's when I began to wonder why I didn't recognize this area.

I managed to escape without any more trouble, and later that, I heard a boom of a cannon, and sure enough it was the boy from District 10 on screen in the sky.

I put the rock in my pack for safe keeping.

Another day passed after that one. Then the bad stuff started happening. It was dusk and I was just finished up eating some of my berries. Then I heard a cannon go off. I looked into the sky as the music stated playing and I saw Thresh on the screen. I was scared and sad. Poor Thresh. He saved my life and now I could never ever repay him.

Then, I heard an explosion behind me. I looked around the tree I was sitting on a branch of to see smoke rising up. It looked like someone had set off a mine at first, but then I realized it wasn't when I saw the District 5 girl racing by me. That reminded me. Now that there were two of us, they wanted a big finale. But how could I? The girl was very fast.

But then I saw her stop near a ditch and next to a tree with an unarmed explosive on it. Must have been set there for any unlucky tributes to come in it's path. This was it. It had to be. The Gamemakers had to have planned this. But how would I fight her?

Then I remembered the slingshot.

I pulled out of my pack and suddenly realized that I only had one metal ball left. I had been practicing, but I wasn't conserving my ammo. I guess that the thought of dying's been messing me up lately. Especially so far into the Games...

I only had one shot at it. I knew not to mess the shot up. I loaded the ball into the elastic string and pulled it back, taking a breath and concentrating on the girl with the red hair, oblivious to her possible death.

I fired the shot...

Explosions could be heard.

It worked. The explosion that went off because of the motion sensors killed the girl in an instant. She fell limp and flew into the water. If the blast didn't kill her, the water would for sure.

But then a piece of singed and glowing red metal came flying my way. Out of quick reflexes used the shield that was around my arm and blocked it from hitting me.

Thank goodness I got that shield to begin with. Or else things would have been terrible. No Victor and-

Then I suddenly realized it... I was the only one left. I won the Hunger Games. More importantly, I could go home. Back to 11...

''Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the winner of the 74th annual Hunger Games, Rue Barnette, from District 11!'' Said a voice that sounded like Claudius'.

Then a hovercraft came down to the tree next to me where a Peacekeeper faced me.

''Jump in!'' He said.

I jumped into the hovercraft and I took a seat. The man looked at me and said-

''Congratulations.''

''Thank You.'' I said back.

He actually said thanks. Maybe the Capitol people aren't all the same...

On the ride back to the Capitol, I actually saw Katniss on the hovercraft with me. But not as a person. She was a spirit had hadn't gone to the other side. She smiled at me before she vanished, and I smiled back, too.

When I got back, I was greeted by my prep team and mentor. I wasn't very close with them before the Games, mainly because they were preparing me for slaughter, but now I did not mind them. Besides, they were actually very happy to see me back. We had a big party the rest of that day. Lots of food, beverages and music. The Capitol's music mainly consisted of violins and trumpets, items that were considered a treasure in my District.

Then came the day of the ceremony. Hosted by Caesar Flickerman. I was wearing a white dress made of silk and I wore matching slippers. After he presented me, I walked on stage and took a seat next to Caesar.

There he asked what it was like to win against all odds, and I said- ''I have Katniss to thank for that.''

The audience, even Caesar himself, who's probably seen everything, was moved by what I said.

After another bunch of stuff I can't remember to this day, which I think I'm better off not remembering, I left for the crown. I was seated at a throne for the whole Capitol to see. There were thousands of citizens cheering for me and chanting my name. President Snow stood next to me. A little boy walked over with the victor's crown on a pillow in his hands. He handed it to Snow and he ut it on my head.

''Congratulations.'' He said.

''Thank you.'' I said quietly as I noticed his creepy white rose on his suit. It smelled like poison.

After that, I left the Capitol and went back home to District 11. When I got back, everybody cheered for me as I got off. My family an over to me and they all hugged me. My parents were crying tears of joy as my Dad picked me up and held me in is arms while my younger siblings cheered and jumped around.

Sometime later, we moved into the Victor's Village. The people of 11 were showered with gifts of meat, candy and many other foods. That was the District's prize should one of their Tributes win the Games.

There we met the few victors of our district besides me. Two of them I knew; Chaff and Seeder. They mentored for the Games, though, Seeder did most of the work. Chaff was usually drunk with another Victor, I think from 12. I spent my spare time playing with my siblings and singing to Mockingjays.

I was so surprised to see that I won, but I did it. As I sat in my new backyard, sitting on a rock and shaded by a tree while watched the birds sing, I saw something next to me that I had not seen before.

It was Katniss.

Even though she was dead, and she might have just been a figment of my imagination, I didn't care. I was happy to see her.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back. Then we both shared a laugh like when we did in the arena next to the fire, eating Groosling. As creepy as it sounded, I just started to not care. I'd rather be seeing things than dead. Though from how it sounds, it was probably her spirit I was seeing... the spirit of the girl who was on fire. The girl that Peeta from 12 had a crush on...

I knew that there would be more in store for me down the road. Victor's tour, mentoring, well, I'm only 12, so I don't think I'll be needing to worry about that for a while.

I just hope that time will slow down... and make it not happen forever...

**THE END.**

**x.x.x**

**And there you have it. I just love AU fics. Don't you? Anyways, thank you for reading my Fan Fiction. Any reviews, C2 addings, Favs and even hits are more than appreciated! Ta ta!**

**~WrittenWithPencils.**


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